Mom28kds
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Posts posted by Mom28kds
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I'm still researching what I want to do since this will be my first go around with high school. This is what I'm thinking so far
Science - Dive Physical Science (Self-paced)
Math - TT - Algebra 1
Comp/Lit - EIW/EIL 9 (Both Writing and Literature) or Sharon Watson. Still narrowing down
History - Still deciding - I want this to be fun because he loves History and does things on his own already so I don't want to bog him down just need to figure out something that is organized to keep us on the right track.
Bible - Not sure yet. Wanting to have Bible time with all the kids in the morning.
Home Ec - I'm planning on have all the kids learn how to plan, buy, cook meals as well as other household things. Still working on this idea. I'd like to figure out how to give him a home ec credit for this.
Phys Ed - Cross country and Wrestling will fill this credit
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4 minutes ago, kbutton said:
I will note for the OP that high school stuff gets harder and harder to figure out at a convention unless you are using a resource that is sold there directly, or the help you need is about transcripts, etc. I think there is big picture help, and then specific curriculum, but not a big selection of stuff to browse or specific help on, say, teaching techniques, for high school. It's there, but it's not as customizable as the advice or products for elementary kids, IMO. If you know you are interested in something that is going to represented at the convention though, you will be able to speak to the people designing that curriculum directly, and that is valuable. It might be more applicable for my second kiddo, but my first one is not typical, at all.
Thank you! Good to know 🙂
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2 hours ago, PeterPan said:
Well I USED to go religiously, every year, the whole thing. I was at the very first Cincy convention years ago, haha, and always went to CHEO before that. I faded out as my ds became my emphasis. Nothing fits him, nothing applies, and probably I could be giving those talks. The last time I went I think I did the free hall night plus a day pass for the hall and went to no talks. I can't remember the last year I went to talks, but it would have been maybe 5 years ago. I just really have to stay focused in my mind on exactly where ds is and I can't let myself get into any fancies or theories or someone else's opinions. It's a really tricky thing. Like it's great that so and so also has a kid with that diagnosis, but I have to treat my ds with integrity, teaching HIM where HE is. We're all going through our journeys and mine isn't going to be someone else's.
Also the other shift was to realizing I was putting all my money into therapy-based materials. So it's stuff they don't even sell at conventions, sigh. I can go for just the vendor hall and find stuff, but to buy more is a waste and distraction, wishing he were different than he is.
As far as high school, even my dd was pretty custom by that point. But yeah, I think maybe before her junior year was the last time I seriously went, like unskippably, must figure this out.
My best thing about conventions was our meet-ups, getting pepped up to keep going, and talking with other people. I learned a ton talking with other people from here on the boards. I'm one of those strange people who goes to a convention and comes out knowing a lot of people. I have no clue how. It even happens at other conventions on other topics, lol. I guess I just talk a lot? So THAT for me was the value. People will tell you things in person they don't say on the boards and you just get this context.
I say make it what you want. The (Hyatt? I forget) beside the Duke has a beautiful pool. One year we did the free hall night and then stayed and did the vendor hall pass on the cheap. That was a lot of fun. Take a kid along if you want and make it a memory! I've driven it all in one day (2 1/2 hours each way) and that's rough. See if there's someone you could shack up with if you want. Of course 30 minutes isn't bad, mercy. Or take a girlfriend with you and get some windshield time?
Wow, thank you for this. It's so very insightful as to always keep in mind my child/children and their needs. The grass isn't always greener and to do what works. Great perspective!
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If so, why are you going? Are you going to listen to the speakers, to look at the curriculum or all of the above? I'm going to one day of the Midwest Convention in Cincinnati. I've been before and only to browse the curriculum. I live 30 from there so I can pop in. It seems there are many knowledgeable homeschoolers that go and I'm just curious what you like and the reasons you go. I usually don't have a whole weekend to put aside and am fortunate I live close enough to drop in. I usually need help looking and deciding on things for the next year. This year I'm needing to help with high school since I'll be venturing into high school for one of my kids. I'm looking forward to the time away to browse and to solidify some other things I'm looking at as well for my middle schoolers. It's fun to see what's new also 😊
What speakers are you looking forward to hearing and what curriculum are you wanting to check out?
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You all have helped me so much already. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have felt like there is a mountain in front of me I wasn't sure I could climb. But ! was going to do everything I had to do it anyway. Your responses have helped ease my mind and put some practical ideas into place. Lori D, you are a gem! Thank you for taking the time to put all that together and help me understand how this would be doable. I actually felt more calm as I was reading all these responses. I'm hoping that others who read this will feel this as well. I don't post much because I feel I'm learning from all of you and don't have much to add. I've been with these boards for years and have gleamed so much from all of you.
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My youngest 3 kids will be in 7th, 8th and 9th grade next year. They are avg kids! I've been trying to look though the avg. kid threads but my question is........ When you have kids that have to work very hard to get avg grades how do you get enough credits to give a HS diploma? I keep seeing things like "my child is doing Alg 1 in 11th grade" or "we didn't do chemistry" etc. How do you end up with enough for them to graduate? What kinds of classes do you do? We will probably be one of these families and as I prepare for next year, I'm trying to figure out how I can give a few courses they need to have and then give some electives that would count as a class that they would enjoy. It can be overwhelming and this board is my only homeschool resource.
My 9th wants to go into the Marines and my 8th has pretty rough exectutive functions skills. As I've been reading on these boards I'm seeing that I shouldn't try to load on a ton of work especially at the beginning that it might send us all over the edge. I'm nervous about my abilities so I'd like to figure out how to have happy kids and enough work to get them through high school without failing them. I don't have a college degree myself so I don't claim to be super smart, just love my kids and think homeschooling them is the best way us.
PS. My next year 7th grader has been homeschooled only and my 8th and 9th have been to PS the last 2 years and I have decided it's best to bring them home for the duration.
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3 minutes ago, PeterPan said:
This is not so much 8th (which I think should just be crazy and whimsical and ANYTHING YOU WANT) but more for 9th. Starting in 9th I made my dd response forms, and we used them extensively for almost anything where I wanted to create structure. So all those essay books had response logs. Lit anthologies, response logs. Science essays, response logs. She thought it was crazy, then she got to college and realized they were asking for response essays, lol. So even a simple thing, done over and over, can be really valuable. I would roll with what you think has meaning for her and gets her to think and interact with the material.
What is a response log?
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41 minutes ago, PeterPan said:
Like the others, I'm going to say the issue is how you STRUCTURE the curriculum, not what particular curriculum it is. So think HIGH STRUCTURE. Daily checklists, checkpoints and times when you check in with her during the day, everything very clear.
My dd is significantly ADHD and we didn't do meds until middle high school. She wishes in hindsight she had had them a couple years earlier and my two cents would be to begin now. Begin now so that you start on a fresh foot, in a totally new way. Like don't begin without them, get frustrated, have bad blood, and then start, kwim? Give her the tools NOW for an awesome year NOW. And if you're like no way jose, try a 4 hour med. Or try caffeine. But just try a 4 hour med then and see if it changes her life. See if SHE likes her ability to function. It's also good to work out those kinks now (dosing, etc.) rather than doing that in high school. It can be done, but I'm just saying I would start now. My dd was lucky and literally liked the first med, first dose. That's unheard of. She has talked with people who took a whole year to sort it out and find a set-up they liked. So starting now makes sense.
If you're working on STRUCTURE, then don't increase the demands on everything! This is her first year back, so maybe have one thing challenging and everything else idiotically smooth and obvious so she has the pleasure of a good year that just works.
She needs to begin doing some daily mindfulness to work on that anxiety. It will improve her EF by 30% (not replacing meds, just making her feel better) and may improve her self-awareness and self-regulation. Given what you're describing (and sort of hinting at around the corners that reminds me of things with my dd) I'm just going to say that working on that is a good thing. Don't be afraid to go to the Social Thinking site and get some books that seem appropriate to her. Our library had TONS of books from the ST list for teens. Improving self-awareness will improve her ability to self-monitor, self-advocate, and make better choices.
I really like the 360 Thinking seminars. Heathermomster has another ($$$) she recommends. Point is the dc will benefit from strategies. You're in Ohio. There is a KICK BUTT, really really amazing educational therapy practice in Columbus that has scads of educational therapists, works by phone. You could have her start doing this. My dd finally got this service in college, but now going into high would be great! Like 30 minutes a week emphasizing problem solving, responsibility, self-monitoring and realizing whether you're on the plan, etc.
One of the best things I did with dd (besides meds and a thorough education and, I don't know, maybe teaching her to cook, lol) was teaching her to self-advocate. I SHOWED her the accommodations list from the psych and I said: 1) you only disclose your diagnosis when you want to, on a need to know, and 2) you OWN it. It is not unfair to use accommodations and it lets the bright child who is inside come out. My dd has very low processing speed relative to IQ, so one of her most basic accommodations has been receiving discussion questions ahead of time. Now in college she prescreens classes and professors because it's a huge issue. When she was your dd's age (7th grade) I put her in her first online class and I said these are your accommodations, we're going to send them to the teacher, you're going to get them. It kinda blew her mind, but she had SO MUCH FUN in that class, because she could actually participate with the accommodations, that she has never backed off that or been bashful about that. In some circles disabilities are embarrassing or called sin or considered something you should just try harder about, so it's really important to combat that with the FACTS of brain structure, wiring, processing speed, that this is fair and right, that it's ok to let what she is shine.
Can she type proficiently? This is the age to be filling in functional gaps like that. My dd struggled both with handwriting and typing, which was just the nightmare scenario where neither were really functional. We did metronome work (which Heathermomster told us about, love love) for free using our own hack approach at home, and it bumped her functionality enough to be able to get her thoughts out.
You're not going to win at everything. I would encourage you to under-dream. There are a lot of voices that say xyz is "not good enough" and you need to SHUT THEM OUT and move on. Unless this dc has some significant goals, probably anything you look at will be "good enough." One "not" good enough option (per the crowd) we finally went to was MUS. My dd's ACT scores were top notch and I should have switched over sooner. I'm not saying it's brilliant math. I went to a school for the gifted and did plenty of math in high school and college. I can be prissy with anybody, but my REALITY was that I had a kid with autism and apraxia who needed significant attention and a kid who needed to work independently. MUS was good enough (not great, not amazing, but honestly good enough for an average person kind of scenario) and it could be done independently. It taught her some really solid skills for self-monitoring comprehension. She learned how to sit down with a textbook and video and go ok, I didn't understand this, I'm going to re-wind. That was REALLY VALUABLE. That was actually MORE VALUABLE than the math itself. You probably have a nemesis or things you don't have time for, and if math is it look at MUS.
I think it's ok to do delight-driven anything she's intensely interested in and create very loose accountability/structure. So my dd was into costuming and history. I did not need to make massive programs and syllabi for that, kwim? I just had her log hours or tick chapters. She sat there working rabbit trails. I also had her do things that just made her THINK. I compelled her to subscribe to multiple (3?) online new services so she could just flat learn the news and be educated. Then I said once a week rabbit trail something from those daily news briefings. She enjoyed that, and that gave us a subtle dip into geography.
I used a lot of anthologies, with essay collections for science and nature writing, food writing, all sorts of things. They're cheap and packed with terrific stuff. She'd read 2 essays at a pop of science to count toward her science hours. Might kinda be why her science ACT score was tops, lol. The advisor who did her career testing was like you're going science, right? Hahaha, no way. For her, with her narrative, connected way of thinking, I wanted to put the science information into contexts. That's what fit her. Do what fits her. The book Dyslexic Advantage was an eye-opener for me and made me realize why things worked for her. Even though it says dyslexia, check it out, see what you think. It will be at your library.
We used the WWS sequence for writing, doing WWS1 in 8th and WWS2 in 9th iirc. Honestly I'm going to forget soon. I'm not saying it's like this ooh wow joyful amazing experience. I had to attack it with highlighters every week and turn it into something she could work with. I was able to make it completely independent and it was high structure. It was also insanely dry and torturous. But again, she is kicking butt with her writing I think. We just do the best we can. If you like something else, do something else. It's ok not to do things as well as you'd like because you're constrained by so many things that also need to get done.
Abeka grammar is good enough and includes writing. We fiddled with other things, but it's straightforward, idiotproof, easy to schedule and put on a checklist. Just trim it down and don't do it ALL mercy. Like do 3 in the section and STOP.
We used the K12 History Odyssey sequence of texts and dd liked them. They come with nothing else, but I hate history and don't really teach it anyway. Oh well.
I outsourced spanish, which had a lot of plusses (it gets done, competition, herd effect, structure) and disadvantages (aggravated dd's severely poor word retrieval). She's really not practical for speaking a foreign language and is doing everything she can to avoid it in college too. I think fit the reality of your dc. If all they need is credits, get credits and don't turn this into a statement on what an awesome homeschooler you are. YOU ARE AWESOME IF YOU FINISH THE RACE. Just finishing is good enough. You don't have to compare to someone else or do everything well or the best. I tried really hard and I did NOT get done everything I aspired to. I would have saved money had I tried less hard. Don't set your expectations unrealistically high is what i'm saying. Realistic will be good enough and even great, honest.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this out. This will definitely be a resource for me. Thank you for letting me know it's ok to not do it all. I'm concerned about that and my ability to teach her what she needs. I don't want to fail her. I will check out the things you shared. Thank you very much!
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21 minutes ago, 2Peanuts said:
Hi there,
I haven't read the sticky on EF (saw it and skimmed some but haven't read it through carefully) so hope this is helpful.
My first impression is that you'll want to seek out curricula that have things like checklists to help your DD make sure she has completed all the portions of an assignment. Off the top of my head, I know IEW uses checklists with their writing program, which I use with my ASD son with great success. (He's only a 4th grader, though, so I can't speak to how it works for older kids but I have been really impressed by how incremental it is.) I also know Pandia Press' History Odyssey program uses checklists, but that program also includes a lot of reading. I used that with my older kid, who is neurotypical, and she didn't particularly like it. (Too much reading, according to her.) Sorry, I don't know about other programs/disciplines beyond these two.
To help organize my older kiddo, I use breakfast to go over what she has to do & what she has to accomplish that day. Right now, it's all verbal, which I suspect won't work for your DD, but I have a friend who uses Google Keep (I think that's the one where you can create check lists?) with her kiddos with great success. Basically, her kiddos go through their various classes (some are outsourced, some are with mom) and they read through what's due, what's coming up, etc. Then they input into their Google Keep what they plan to do for the day & use it as a checklist to stay on-task. I plan to use her system with DD next year. But this might be a helpful tool to keep track of assignments. I suppose the key is to build in time every day to check it. 🙂 I use breakfast time to go over the day with my DD and then check in with her at each meal to see what she has accomplished.
Re: time management, use a timer. I use a timer for myself when I work with my ASD son. If I don't, I have found I can spend waaaaay too long on a particular subject (ahem, math) and sap his energy for the day. So, I set a timer for 30 minutes and when it goes off, I finish whatever problem we're on and then give him a 2-to-5 minute break and move to the next lesson.
Hope this helps!
Thank you!! Now I need to get myself organized. I'm so overwhelmed. Thank you for the checklist idea. I'll look into it. I plan to get a timer for sure.
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Long title I know. I've been HSing for many years but the last 2 I've had one of mine in public school. She will be in 8th grade next year. We've finally figured out that she has inattentive ADHD with definite EF issues. I've never heard about EF until now. I've seen the problems for years just didn't know what it was or what to do about it. I'll be HSing 3 next year including her. Are there any curriculums that I should look at that might work better for kids who struggle with EF? She has problems with memory, time, organization etc. If I give her more than 1 thing to do it totally stresses her as well as when I try have her change something or need to correct her. I want things that are simple but grade appropriate. Too much or too difficult would send us both over the edge. I am planning on HSing through high school. I did read the sticky on EF but I'm hoping for possible curriculum ideas. Thank you!
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1 hour ago, Farrar said:
Having looked at it, my personal opinion is yes.
I'm a former high school history teacher. I haven't seen the US program, but I have a sense of what her programs look like from back when she did a lot of free stuff and you can see the book list. I think there's enough in there to call it a credit. That said, there are a LOT of books in there that are not meant to be the meat of a high school program. I mean, it uses multiple books intended for elementary and middle school audiences and relies on the Cartoon History, which is okay in terms of information, but isn't going to push a kid's reading level. I mean, it's got the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales books all over it. They have great information and are fun... but they're for upper elementary kids.
So, yes. Enough for a credit. The problem is that I'm not sure who it's right for exactly. It's a bit too much for most middle schoolers, but maybe right for an advanced middle schooler. But for high school, the materials would be great enrichment for a more immature or remedial student or a student who doesn't love history but wants a bit of fun in the course, but there's too much in there for most students who fit that profile. So... But all that is without having seen it. Maybe there are good primary source readings and writing or something to beef it up?
For the science... It also seems like enough sheer work to call it a credit. But it absolutely is not a regular science credit. So, not good for a STEM student, but in this case I get the audience completely. Seems perfect for a more humanities leaning student who likes to read and will delve in and think but doesn't need/want a standard track class. The bio seems closer. The kitchen chem and the physics are clearly very light on the science, but heavier on the ideas and reading.
Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to look at it and reply. I will keep that in mind as I process what I think I can do and he will enjoy.
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I stumbled across Guest Hollow in my searching for ideas for my next year 9th grader. He's my first high schooler so I'm a bit nervous at my ability. From the initial look of the History and Science it looks like something my son would enjoy. Is it enough for high school credit? My other option for Science that I was looking at is DIVE. My son loves History so reading books and watching documentaries is right up his alley. Thoughts appreciated. I really need to be budget friendly if possible.
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3 hours ago, Lori D. said:
This recent post has some great ideas: "Books about WWI for middle school" -- lots of non-fiction, fiction, and movies. Most of the suggestions are for a 12yo, which would likely be a good fit for your 6th grader.
These 2 books might be a good starting point:
- The War to End All Wars (Freedman)
- World War 1 for Kids: A History with 21 Activities
Also, some of the chapters in SWB's Story of the World vol. 4 are very helpful in explaining the events leading up to WHY WWI happened.For videos, I'd watch both of these, in this order:
- 8-min video on World War I -- really clear explanations of the causes, conflict overview, and consequences of the war, with an animated map for visuals
- 10-min video summary of World War I -- lots of good photos; the first/last parts on the causes and consequences of WWI are esp. clear; the middle is filled with a lot of short "factoids"Awesome! Thank you ?
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44 minutes ago, theelfqueen said:
I love the National World War I museum in Kansas City, I don't know where you're located but if you could get there, you should. It's amazing.
This video from the museum is really good info
Their interactive timeline is a great resource.
https://www.theworldwar.org/explore/interactive-wwi-timeline
This DK book is a good overview.
DK Eyewitness Books: World War I: Witness the Horror and Heroism of the Great War from the Assassination of an Arc https://www.amazon.com/dp/1465420584/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Akf7Bb1CTB870
Theres some good resources here:
http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/60040.htm
Some good fiction options for a 6th grader would be War Horse or Rilla of ingleside.
Thank you! I'm in Ohio so I won't be able to do the museum but will definitely check out the other resources. I really like the last link. Very good ?
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I need good ideas on how to teach about World War 1 to my 6th grade son. I don't really know about it and we will learn together but I can't find anything simple enough or interesting enough. Does anyone know of any videos, documentaries, books (from library) that I can get to help me with this? Historical fiction would be great as well. I have the book "The World Wars" but just reading through is confusing. Maybe I'm just looking too much into this and trying to pull more about this subject than what we actually need. Any thoughts are appreciated ?
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1 hour ago, PeterPan said:
I see that you're in Ohio, so have you made a formal written request for evals to see if she needs an IEP? It will take the rest of the school year to go through the process, but at that point, assuming you get an IEP, you'll be eligible for the Jon Peterson scholarship which, depending on the disability they assign and the tier it falls under, will probably get you $15k a year to use to service the IEP when you pull her out of the ps.
I've talked with several people who got enough documentation through particularly thorough reading tutors (SLPs who run the CTOPP, reading achievement testing, etc.) to push the process forward. Yes, it's possible your ps will botch it. So rather than reading and wondering, my two cents would be to go ahead and get evals privately, start the IEP process, and have the Jon Peterson in place so you can get her services when you bring her home. If you think something is going on, there probably is.
Also, depending on where you live, people can throw you out some names of psychs to look at. A number of people here are in Ohio. ?
Thank You so much!!! What are SLPs and CTOPP? I'm new to this whole thing so I don't know what those are haha.
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I'm wondering if my DD has Dyslexia. Do any of you know any good books that I can research this idea. Right now she is in the public school. I put her in last year thinking maybe they could help better than me with some of the things we were struggling with while homeschooling. She's still struggling and I'm considering bringing her back home next year. I don't want to self diagnose and don't want to diagnose something that's not there but there is still something that I can't put my finger on as to her learning. Dyslexia or even dyscalculia seems to check quite a few boxes of the struggles. Thanks so much.
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I'll have 3 at home for 7th, 8th and 9th. The 7th grader is already homeschooled. The 9th grader wants to go into the military, works hard but struggles to stay focused at times. He has to work for his grades. I don't think he'll need to be college ready so to speak but I don't want to bring him home and do a disservice. My next year 8th grader needs alot of help. She's started PS in 6th and is struggling so bad because learning is a challenge. I can figure it out for the 7th and 8th next year but I don't want to screw up high school since I've never done it before. I've always been fairly laid back in my schooling. Major on the majors sort of thing. I'm dedicated and do school 5 days a week. Friday is the easiest day. I don't mind the public education although I would prefer christian. I like to have flexibility do school at night or days as long as we get it done and I'm not sure public school online allows for that. I know I'll need to make some changes by bringing them home and I'm ok with that. I need to figure out what would work best and what might be out there that would fit what we need. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond. Yes, I'm in Ohio.
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I've homeschooled my littles for years and then sent them to public school because I didn't feel like I could do high school. I NEED to bring them home. What are some places for me to look where they can be home, get a good education and that will keep track of their grades etc for a transcript? I really don't know where to start with this. I'm really not qualified to teach all they need to know in high school but want them home getting a good education. Thanks so much.
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14 hours ago, Airykah said:
I posted this somewhere on another thread, but I’ll post here too. ?
Math: Jacobs Algebra, just got BA online for her to play on for “fun math”
Science: RSO Biology 2, going to do some notebooking with Mel and Gerdy too
History: Second part of U.S. history with BYL 6
Lit: BYL 6 and short story selections from EIL 7
Writing: Trying EIW 7, did WWS 1 with WTMA last year and she asked for a break. Going to weave in some Bravewriter and Rip the Page for creative writing
Grammar/Spelling: MCT Voyage, Spelling Workout G
Logic/Latin: Critical Thinking Co. and Latin Prep
Art, Music, and STEM at co-op
Lots and lots and lots of dance. So much dance.
What is BYL?
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55 minutes ago, aaplank said:
I only used the answer key and thought it very useful. I think talking through and doing most of the review exercises are essential. I had my ds pick 10 challenge words from each lesson and write sentences or a paragraph with them.
We also used Quizlet for each lesson and review. The independent games and flash cards really added to the program.
Thank You!
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I asked back in January but haven't seen anything recent as we head back into another school year. What is everyone planning on for 6th. I love these threads because it helps to see what people like enough to buy/try. So far this is what I have.
Math - CLE6
Language - Essentials in Writing 6
Vocabulary - Vocabulary from Classical Roots 6
History - Civil War to present using Everything you need to know to ace American History, various videos and other books
Science - Science corner using Everything You Need to Know to Ace Science, Science magazines, books, videos (I haven't loved any Science curriculum so I'm trying Science Time this year where I have a time where my son reads anything science. I have lots of books and magazines as well to use.
Handwriting - Pentime
Reading - Just lots of books
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11 hours ago, Paradox5 said:
Just the student wkbk.
How important is the teacher's book vs the answer key?
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What all is necessary for Vocabulary from Classical Roots (teacher's book, answer key etc)? I'm planning on using this for my 6th grader. Thanks ?
Where do I go after CLE Math 6
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted · Edited by Mom28kds
My DS who is in 6th this year will finish CLE Math 6. When looking into next year do I just continue with CLE 7 or move into a pre-algebra in something else? I'm not sure where to go from here. He does't have any trouble with his Math and it comes pretty easy so far. He grades his own work, checks with me if he doesn't get something and primarily gets in the 90's on his tests.